Shivraj Patil spectacularly inept: David Mulford

NEW DELHI: The description of Russian leader Vladimir Putin as 'Alpha dog' and French President Nicolas Sarkozy as "an emperor with no clothes" by US diplomats may have attracted criticism but David Mulford's assessment of Shivraj Patil as "spectacularly inept" will have receptive ears here.

In a cable sent to US administration soon after the jihadi attack on Mumbai, the ambassador had said that he lacked the wherewithal to lead the security apparatus and that his removal from the home ministry was inevitable.

"In this environment, removal of the home minister was inevitable. He has over the last four years proved himself to be spectacularly inept. In almost every incident of terrorist or communal violence — Bangalore, Ahemdabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Guwahati, Samjhauta Express, Orissa, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir — he has been asleep on the watch," the ambassador wrote.

According to the US ambassador's assessment, which is shared by many here, it was Sonia Gandhi who was protecting the then home minister.

"Each time there have been calls for his ouster but Sonia Gandhi has protected him. The public's reaction to the Mumbai incidents has been such that even she could not save him this time," the ambassador's cable noted. Patil was rehabilitated as governor of Punjab after he was removed from the home minister's post.